Litter

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw (often man-made) objects onto the ground and leave them indefinitely or for others to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them properly.

Larger hazardous items such as tires, appliances, electronics and large industrial containers are often dumped in isolated locations, such as National Forests and other public land.

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded annually.[1] Estimates on the required time for cigarette butts to break down vary. They range from five years to 400 years for complete degradation.[2][3]

History[edit]

Platform of Strathfield station in Sydney, Australia. Rubbish accumulated over months, perhaps years due to unsustained periods of frequent cleaning

A small river's valley in India shows extensive littering of plastic and paper. Human waste, illustrated by the urinating man, increase fecal coliform and other bacteria levels in the water.

Throughout animal history, people have disposed of unwanted materials onto streets, roadsides, in small local dumps or often in remote locations. Prior to reforms within cities in the mid-to-late 19th century, sanitation was not a government priority. The growing piles of waste led to the spread of disease.

Causes[edit]

In addition to intentional littering, almost half of litter on U.S. roadways is now a result of accidental or unintentional litter, usually debris that falls off of improperly secured trash, recycling collection vehicles and pickup trucks.[6] Population levels, traffic density and proximity to waste disposal sites are factors known to correlate with higher litter rates.[7][8][9][10][11]

Illegally dumped hazardous waste may be affected by the costs associated with dropping materials at designated sites; some facilities charge a fee for depositing hazardous material.[12] Access to nearby facilities that accept hazardous waste may deter use. Additionally, ignorance of the laws that regulate the proper disposal of hazardous waste may have an impact on proper disposal.

According to a study by the Dutch organization VROM, 80 percent of the people claim that "everybody leaves a piece of paper, tin or something, on the street behind".[13] Young people from 12 to 24 years cause more litter than the average (Dutch or Belgian) person. Eighteen percent of people who regularly cause litter were 50 years of age or older. However, a 2010 survey of littering in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in the United States, placed litterers aged 55 and over at less than five percent. The same observational study estimated the overall average of litterers to be 78 percent male.[11] Nevertheless, automobile drivers and recreationalists, smokers and youth are specific target groups within many campaigns conducted to keep countries free of litter.[citation needed] In 1999, research by Keep America Beautiful found that 75% of Americans admitted to littering the last five years, yet 99% of the same individuals admitted they enjoyed a clean environment.

Negligent or lenient law enforcement contributes to littering behavior.[citation needed] Other causes are inconvenience, entitlement and economic conditions.[citation needed] A survey of dumping in Pennsylvania found that the largest number of illegal dumps were in townships without municipal trash hauling.[14] The same report also cites unavailability of curbside trash and recycling service, shortage of enforcement, and habit as possible causes.[15] The presence of litter invites more littering.[16]

Two-stage process model[edit]

The two-stage process model of littering behavior describes the different ways in which people litter. The model was proposed by Chris Sibley and James Liu and differentiates between two types of littering: active and passive.[17]

The theory has implications for understanding the different types of litter reduction interventions that will most effectively reduce littering in a given environment. The theory states that, all things being equal, passive littering will be more resistant to change because of two psychological processes: 1. diffusion of responsibility that increases as the latency between when an individual places litter in the environment and when they vacate the territory, and 2. forgetting, which is also more likely to occur at longer delays between when an individual places litter in the environment and when they vacate the territory.

Life cycle[edit]

Litter can remain either visible for extended periods of time before it eventually biodegrades, with some items made of condensed glass, styrofoam or plastic possibly remaining in the environment for over a million years.[18][19][20]

Some litter that is collected can be recycled, however degraded litter cannot be recycled and eventually degrades to sludge, often toxic. The majority of litter that is collected goes to landfills.

Effects[edit]

Litter can harm humans and the environment in different ways.

Effects on humans[edit]

These tires were discarded on the Middle Branch of Baltimore Harbor in this photo from 1973. Tire dumping is still a concern today and could benefit from tire recycling.

Hazardous materials contained within litter and illegally dumped rubbish can leach into water sources, contaminate soil and pollute the air.

Tires are the most often dumped hazardous waste. In 2007 the United States generated 262 million scrap tires.[22] Thirty-eight states have laws that ban whole tires being deposited in landfills.[23] Many of these discarded tires end up illegally dumped on public lands. Tires can become a breeding ground for insect vectors which can transmit disease to humans.[24]Mosquitoes, which breed in stagnant water, can transmit West Nile Virus and Malaria. Rodents nest in accumulated tires and can transmit diseases such as Hantavirus[24]

When tires are burned they can smolder for long periods of time emitting hundreds of chemical and compounds that pollute the air causing respiratory illnesses. Additionally the residue left behind can harm the soil and leach into groundwater.[24]

Open containers such as paper cups or beverage cans can hold rainwater, providing breeding locations for mosquitoes. In addition, a spark has the potential to hit a piece of litter like a paper bag which could start a fire.

Litter can be hazardous. Debris falling from vehicles is an increasing cause of automobile accidents.[25] Discarded dangerous goods, sharps waste and pathogens resulting from litter can cause accidental harm to humans.

Litter also carries substantial cost to the economy. Cleaning up litter in the U.S. costs hundreds of dollars per ton, about ten times more than the cost of trash disposal, for a cost totaling about $11 billion per year.[7][26]

Effects on wildlife[edit]

Animals may get trapped or poisoned with litter in their habitats. Cigarette butts and filters are a threat to wildlife and have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds and whales, who have mistaken them for food. Also animals can get trapped in the rubbish and be in serious discomfort. For example, the plastic used to hold beverage cans together can get wrapped around animals' necks and cause them to suffocate as they grow. Other instances where animals could be harmed by litter include broken glass lacerating the paws of dogs, cats, and other small mammals, fishing nets caught on the necks of seals and turtles, etc.

Other effects[edit]

Organic litter in large amounts can cause water pollution and lead to algal blooms.[27] Cigarettes could also start fires if they are not put out and then discarded in the environment.

Solutions[edit]

Litter bins[edit]

Public waste containers or street bins are provided by local authorities to be used as a convenient place for the disposal and collection of litter. Increasingly both general waste and recycling options are provided. Local councils pick the waste up and take it to reuse or recycling. However there are issues with this approach. If the bins are not regularly emptied, then overfilling of bins occurs and can increase litter indirectly. Some local authorities will only take responsibility for rubbish that is placed in the bins, which means that litter remains a problem. People may blame a lack of well-placed bins for their littering. Hazardous materials may be incorrectly disposed of in the bins and they can encourage dumpster diving.

Picking up[edit]

Naval Nuclear Power Training Command student volunteers dispose of used tires littering the waterways of Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina.

Volunteers, sometimes alone or coordinated through organizations will pick up litter and dispose of it. Clean up events may be organized where participants will sometimes comb an area in a line to ensure that no litter is missed. In North America, Adopt a Highway programs are popular, where companies and organizations commit to cleaning stretches of road. Increasingly, geocaching is used (see Cache in Trash Out). In Kiwayu, a Kenyan island, some of the collected litter (flip-flops) is used for making art, which is then sold (see FlipFlop Recycling Company[28][29]).

Picking up litter can be hazardous. Hazards can include exposure to dangerous goods, sharps waste and pathogens. As a result, safety equipment is sometimes worn and tools such as litter grabbers (extendable arms) are used.

Litter traps[edit]

Litter traps can be used to capture litter as it exits stormwater drains into waterways. However, litter traps are only effective for large or floating items of litter and must be maintained.

Monitoring sites of littering and dumping[edit]

Increasingly, there have been efforts to use technology to monitor areas prone to dumping. In Japan, a study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map areas of dumping based on site characteristics.[30]

Legislation: Container deposit legislation[edit]

Container deposit legislation can be aimed at both reducing littering and also encouraging picking up through local recycling programs that offer incentives, particularly for aluminium cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles. In New York, an expanded bottle bill that included plastic water bottles increased recycling rates and generated 120 million dollars in revenue to the state General Fund from unclaimed deposits in 2010.[31]

In some countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, Container deposit legislation has been introduced on cans and plastic bottles. Parts of Belgium are also considering to adopt the legislation.[32] People can thus collect refund value money from this type of waste. The result of this is that in Germany, hardly any cans or plastic bottles can still be found along the road any more. In the Netherlands, the amount of litter has dropped considerably since the implementing of the new legislation, and 95% of the plastic bottles is now recycled. According to Chris Snick, the revenue that can be obtained from waste picking can become financially profitable in countries where container deposit legislation has been introduced; in 1 hour he managed to pick up 108 cans and 31 plastic bottles, earning him 13,90 euro (0,10 euro per can/plastic bottle).[33] By comparison, in countries where only the value of the aluminum for example would be refunded, 139 cans would yield only 1,723 euro (0,0124005 euro per can; assuming there is 15 grams of aluminum in a can, and with scrap aluminum valued at 1,10231 US dollar/kg or 0,8267 euro/kg[34])

Legislation: fining[edit]

Some countries and local authorities have introduced legislation to address the problem.

Actions resulting in fines can include on-the-spot fines for individuals administered by authorised officers in public or on public transport or littering from a vehicle, in which the vehicle owner is fined - reported by either responsible officer or third party, sometimes online.[35][36]

Specific legislation exists in the following countries:

United States - punishable with a more than $500 fine, community service, or both, as set out by state statutes and city ordinances. All 50 states have anti-litter laws.[37] Most highways and national parks are punishable with $1,000 fine or 1 year in prison when they had serious damages. In some areas, the penalties for highway littering can be up to $10,000.

United Kingdom - Leaving litter is an offence under the Environmental Protection act 1990. This was extended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 under section 18. It carries a maximum penalty of £2500 upon conviction. However, many local authorities issue fixed penalty notices under section 88 of the Environmental Protection 1990. Often incorrectly known as "on the spot fines", they do not have to be issued on the spot. Nor are they a fine. If an alleged offender does not want to pay a fixed penalty notice, he can have the case heard in the Magistrates Court.

Australia - no national legislation, although state based environmental protection authorities have laws and fines to discourage littering.

The Netherlands - Dutch police and local supervisors (known as buitengewoon opsporingsambtenaar, or BOA) fine citizens for throwing away cans, bottles or wrappers onto the street.

Anti-litter campaigns[edit]

Many groups exist with the aim of raising awareness and run campaigns including clean up events. Clean Up the World is a worldwide campaign.

In the United States there are a number of organizations running anti-litter campaigns. Keep America Beautiful was founded in 1953. At least 38 states have high profile, government-recognized slogan campaigns, including Don't Mess with Texas; Let's Pick It Up New York; Don't Trash California; Take Pride in Florida; Keep Iowa Beautiful.

In Australia, Clean Up Australia Day is supported by many major Australian companies, firms and volunteers alike. Anti-litter organizations include "Keep Australia Beautiful", founded in 1963. It created the popular "Do the Right Thing" campaign and its Tidy Towns competition became well known being a very competitive expression of civic pride.

Keep Britain Tidy is a British campaign run by the Keep Britain Tidy environmental charity, which is part funded by the U.K. government.